The present application relates to a belt stanchion for a people guidance system which comprises a belt that can be extended from the belt stanchion, counter to the force of a retracting device, and a closure having two mutually complementary coupling members, of which the first is disposed at the free end of the belt and the second is disposed on the belt stanchion.
Such belt stanchions are frequently used in common areas at airports or in the cash register area of department stores to guide people on predefined paths, temporarily close off inaccessible areas, or control the formation of waiting lines. The belt stanchions are generally mobile and have a widened base for a secure footing. The first coupling member at the free end of the belt, which at times is also designed as a rope or the like, is manually anchored at the second coupling member of a neighboring, identical belt stanchion, which is to say the closure is closed, and thereby a manually reopenable barrier is created between the two belt stanchions. The belt stanchions generally comprise two or more, typically three, second coupling members that are distributed over the circumference thereof and, in this way, allow for a flexible configuration of passageways and waiting lines using neighboring belt stanchions in different directions.
Such belt stanchions for people guidance systems are flexible and easy to use. However, if such a common area, which is subdivided by such belt stanchions, is to be cleared quickly, such as an airport terminal in the event of a fire, the belt stanchions connected to each other in multiple instances pose significant obstacles because the belts and belt stanchions act like a net for the quickly moving crowd of people. Individual persons may literally become entangled in the belts or fall, which in the case of rapid clearing of the common area can have fatal effects, in particular when panic arises.
A people guidance system is known from GB 2 102 4166, in which ropes having a fixed length are tensioned between mobile posts by anchoring each end of a rope at a respective head of one post; the anchoring has a predetermined breaking point on the rope in the form of spring-loaded locking pin engaging in boreholes on the post, so that they are released when a strong tensile force is applied. In this way, the rope can be opened by anyone by firm pulling. However, such a predetermined breaking point is not visible, and the rope represents an obvious obstacle until opening. Moreover, an actual release cannot be ensured in the event of panic, in particular when an uncontrolled, oblique tensile action is applied, and every rope that is released on one side remains an obstacle on the floor. Moreover, such a people guidance system can also be easily rendered ineffective by anyone even in the absence of an emergency situation by applying a tensile force and opening the predetermined breaking point.